Is testis variation the key to understanding why males seem so different from one another? Commentary on 'Examining sources of variation in HPG axis function among individuals and populations of the dark-eyed juncos'. By Christine M. Bergeon Burns, Kimberly A. Rosvall Thomas P. Hahn, Gregory E. Demas and Ellen D. Ketterson

摘要

Variance is often viewed as the enemy in experimental science. After all, is not one major goal of science to identify universal phenomena that apply widely to most if not all members of the population of interest? A fascinating trend has emerged in recent years among behavioral biologists and other life scientists working at the organismal level of analysis and that is the development of a keen interest in understanding the causes and significance of intra-specific individual variation. The paper by Bergeon Burns et al. 2013 in the current issue of Hormones and Behavior is an example of this movement in the field.